Radiator construction



2 SHEETS SHEET 1 A. L. HAYNES ET AL RADIATOR CONSTRUCTION Feb. 10, 1953Filed June 22, 1950 05 S LES Y 0 WW M M M m Q W M r .L] T V 0 A Feb. 10,1953 A, HAYNES ET AL 2,628,079

RADIATOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 22, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 l/ 6. RAVIOLO A L .HAVNES INVENTORS E gggw A T TORNEVS Patented Feb. 10, 1953RADIATOR CONSTRUCTION Alex L. Haynes, Detroit, and Victor G. Raviolo,

Dearborn, Mich., assignors to Ford Motor Company, Dear'born, Mich., acorporation of Delaware Application June :22, 1950, Serial No. 169,684

V 12 Claims. 1 This invention relates generally to motor vehicle coolingsystems and has particular .refer ence to an improved radiatorconstruction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a radiator in which theupper tank is divided into two chambers by means of a horizontallyextending bafiie plate, with the radiator inlet communicating with thetank beneath the baflle plate. By maintaining the liquid at any levelabove the bailie plate it is possible to materially i reduce turbulenceand aeration in the upper tank of the radiator and consequently attaingreater efiiciency in the cooling system. The baflle plate is preferablyprovided with a downwardly depending spout establishing communicationbetween the chamber above the baffle plate and the radiator core toenable fill liquid to be readily and rapidly introduced into theradiator core. In addition, the baflle plate .is provided with .a numberof small openings properly located, preferably near the spout, to permitair trapped'beneath the baflle plate to escape into the chamber abovethe plate and also to permit a limited circulation of cooling liquidtherethrough.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparentas this description proceeds, particularly when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away and in section, of aradiator constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross sectional View taken on the planeindicated by the line 2-42. of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane indicatedby the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a radiator for a motorvehicle engine comprising an upper tank I i, a lower tank l2, and a coreE3 of the cellular tubular type. The core I3 is constructed inaccordance with conventional practice and for simplicity is shown inFigure 1 simply in outline. In Figure 3, however, the tubes IA of thecore are shown in elevation with their opposite extremities extendingthrough pierced holes "in the upper and lower tube sheets 16 and ITrespectively.

Conventional horizontal fins are provided to assist in properlyradiating the heat from the radiator, but for the sake of simplicity arenot shown in the drawing and form no part of .outlets .21. are providedin communication with the lower tank I2 to permit liquids cooled bycirculation through the core I3 to be returned to the engine in theusual manner. A filler neck 22 is mounted in the upper wall of the uppertank II and is adapted to be closed by a conventional filler cap (notshown) preferably of the pressure type. An overflow pipe 23 extends froman intermediate portion of the .filler neck downwardly outside theradiator core to permit excess cooling liquid and air to be exhaustedfrom the system.

It will be noted that the upper tank II is in the form of an inverteddished stamping closed at its lower extremity by means of the upperheader I6, the joint therebet'ween being soldered and water tight. Theupper tank I] .is divided into upper and lower chambers by means of ahorizontally extending baflle plate 24 located at a predeterminedintermediate position between the top wall of the tank and the upper.header. The bafile plate is provided with a downturned peripheralflange 26 engaging the sidewalls of the upper tank II and securedthereto by rivets -25 and by soldering. The soldered joint between theperipheral flange 26 of the bafile and the adjacent walls of the uppertank is continuous and water tight and efiectivelyprevents the transferof liquid or air around the edges of the baflie.

The baffle 24 is provided with a downwardly extending spout 21 locatedcentrally of the width of the radiator. As best seen in Figure 2, thespout .2?! is so positioned as to encompass within its periphery theopen upper ends of a predetermined number of tubes l4, here shown aseight tubes. While the lower edge :of the spout 2! :may, if desired,rest directly upon the adjacent surface of the upper tube sheet 16, inthe construction shown in :Figure 3 a slight clearance is allowedbetween the upper :tube sheet l6 and the lower edge of the spout 21.

It will be noted that while the outer ends of the inlets is arecylindrical to .tacilitateconnection of hose thereto, their innerextremities are flared in 'a horizontal direction and flattened in avertical direction to provide'a horizontally elon- :gated opening 2%having substantially the same cross sectional area as the outercylindrical ends of the inlets. The elongatedopenings 28 ;at the innerends of rtheinlets 19 icommunicatewith the upperztank'oi theiradiatorbeneath the :baiflle plate 24 so that all incoming liquid from theengine enters the radiator beneath the baffle. As long as the level ofthe liquid in the radiator is above the baffle plate 24 it will be seenthat the incom ing liquid from the engine is introduced into the core ofthe radiator without coming into contact with any air which may belocated in the upper portion of the upper tank H. Consequentlyturbulence and aeration is held to a minimum and an efficient flow ofcooling liquid through the system is obtained.

When the radiator is being filled with cooling liquid through the fillerneck 22 the liquid passes readily through the spout 27 provided in thebaflle plate and thence into the core and lower tank of the radiator aswell as into the other portions of the engine cooling system such as thewater jacket, etc. During filling, the majority of the liquid enters thecore directly through the tubes l4 whose open upper ends are encompassedby the periphery of the spout 2T. Intercommunication between the openlower ends of the tubes and the lower tank of the radiator permits theentire radiator core to be filled. A certain amount of the filled liquidmay of course enter the upper tank through the clearance space providedbetween the lower end of the spout 27 and the upper tube sheet I6.

As best seen in Figure 2, a number of small holes 29 are formed in thebaiiie plate 24. The holes 29 form air vents permitting air trappedbeneath the bafile plate to pass upwardly therethrough into the upperchamber of the upper tank. It has been found that by locating theseholes relatively close to the spout 2'! effective venting is provided.The holes 29 are relatively small and few in number and do notmaterially interfere with the normal circulation of cooling liquiddirectly from the inlets l9 through the core l3 to the outlets 2 I.

With the radiator construction shown, turbu-' lence in the upper tank iseffectively minimized even though the liquid level in the upper tankdrops considerably. As long as the liquid level is above the baffleplate 24, eifective circulation of the cooling liquid without turbulenceis possible. Cooling liquid should be added to the system, however,whenever the level drops to or beneath the baille plate 24. In someinstances, when the level is dangerously low, as for example just abovethe bafile plate, there may be a tendency to draw air into the radiatorcore through the spout 21. Under these conditions, the small hole 29 inthe baflie function to alleviate this condition. spout 21, liquid mayflow upwardly through the holes to replenish liquid momentarily drawndown into the spout 21 thus preventing air from entering the system.

Attention is invited to the fact that, as best seen in Figure 3, thespout 211 of the bafile plate 24 is offset from the filler neck 22 in aforward direction. An advantage of this arrangement is that the baffleplate itself will be seen through the filler neck when the filler cap isremoved and the amount of liquid above the baiile plate can be moreaccurately judged. If the spout in the battle plate were not offset fromthe filler neck it would be possible for the liquid level in theradiator to be somewhat beneath the baffle and yet show in the spout 21when viewed through the filler neck, thus making it dlflicult toascertain the liquid level and to judge whether the liquid level wasdangerously low or not.

It will be understood that the invention is not Being located closelyadjacent the 4 to be limited to the exact construction shown anddescribed, but that various changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as definedin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a radiator construction, a tubular core having upper and lowertube sheets and a plurality of tubes extending vertically therebetweenand projecting through the upper tube sheet with their upper endsterminating a short distance above said tube sheet, an upper tanklocated above said upper tube sheet, a generally horizontal bafile plateextending across said upper tank with its peripheral edges engaging thewalls of said tank to form a fluid tight seal therebetween, said baflleplate being located between said upper tube sheet and the upper Wall ofsaid tank with the distance from said upper tube sheet to said baffleplate being substantially smaller than the distance from said baflleplate to the upper wall of said tank to divide said tank into a smalllower chamber and a larger upper chamber, a pair of inlets forintroducing fluid to be cooled into said radiator communicating directlywith said smaller lower chamber, a filler neck in the upper wall of saidtank communicating directly with said upper chamber for introducing fillfluid therein, said baflie plate having an enlarged opening therein, anda spout extending downwardly from said baflie plate in alignment withsaid opening to provide for the passage of fill fluid from said upperchamber to said radiator core, said spout terminating close to saidupper tube sheet to deter fluid which enters the lower chamber throughsaid inlet from surging through said opening into said upper chamber.

2. The structure defined by claim 1 which is further characterized inthat said spout and said filler neck are ofiset laterally from eachother to such an extent that their vertical projections do notintersect, and the lower end of said spout terminates below the level ofthe upper ends of the tubes of said radiator core and encompasses withinits periphery the upper ends of a number of said tubes but with themajority of said tubes being located outside the periphery thereof, theinlet for said baitle plate being provided with a plurality of smallholes spaced from said spout to provide direct communication betweenopposite sides of said baffle plate to permit air trapped in said lowerchamber to escape into said upper chamber.

ALEX L. HAYNES. VICTOR G. RAVIOLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,450,399 Witte Apr. 3, 19231,481,312 Borgman Jan. 22, 1924 1,558,009 Giesler Oct. 20, 19251,893,270 Caldwell Jan. 3, 1933 2,164,005 Booth June 27, 1939 2,164,629Sibley July 4, 1939 2,488,623 Goeltz Nov. 22, 1949

